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Chapter 23 – Hellish Routine and Gate Key-Trap

After that eye-opening conversation with Katriny, I spent four long days hunched over the oak table, sketching and attempting to put my reverse-engineering ideas into practice. Visually, my geek mind tried to conceive the structure as an immense ship's steering wheel, but in its rustic mechanical application, the result looked more like the intricate cathedral clocks outfitted with bronze hands and gears.

It took five exhausting days to detail everything in the few hours remaining at the end of my hellish training. Finally, with the arrival of the weekend, I received permission to visit Master Balin's workshop.

However, just remembering that week's physical routine makes my muscles protest. I never imagined that panda could turn out to be such a Spartan executioner. It was endless sets of push-ups on the stone ground, runs against the dense wind of Aegis-Moon, lifting stone counterweights, and balancing exercises on wooden logs. Her mood fluctuated, appearing rather erratic at times, and the creature simply granted me no quarter or breaks to catch my breath; it was a continuous demand for vitality and vigor.

Had I not suffered and tempered my spirit in the arena during my past life, I would surely wish to curse that bear's lineage for three generations. As a justification, Katriny kept uttering her warnings almost like a sacred mantra, claiming that the doctrine imposed by her former master at the Bamboo Sanctuary was infinitely more severe. To me, any discipline worse than that could only be the product of pure sadism.

Well, not that she didn't display sadistic traits herself during those hours, acting like a genuine drill sergeant from the military ranks. Despite my childhood suffering, the practical effects of physical conditioning became crystal clear in my body. Currently, I feel that my psychometry has been strengthened by the increase in my internal energy, and my telekinesis has expanded to the point of allowing me to levitate heavier and cruder objects, such as a battle axe. Weight itself still manifests as my primary psychic limitation — whether dealing with multiple simultaneous targets or a single compact mass —, but if I continue to progress in this doctrine, I will soon be capable of borrowing more than one sword at the same time in combat.

Not long after, our carriage skirted the commercial district and parked in front of the blacksmith shop. I entered the premises under the scorching heat of the forges and called out for the craftsman:

— Good morning, Master Balin! Are you in the back of the workshop?

The dwarf's robust, stocky figure emerged, wiping his soot-stained hands on his thick leather apron:

— Ah, little one! Have you come to grace me with your presence? Come closer to the forge, lad. I'm organizing today's weapon and armor orders... Pull up that wooden stool and make yourself comfortable so we can talk.

— Master Balin, I had an epiphany — I announced, unrolling a sheet of papyrus over the workbench. — I would like your evaluation regarding the practical viability and time needed for this project. I have already presented the fundamental concepts to my father, Lord Arl, but my main worry lies in the construction timeframe for the gears. To resolve the flaws and gaps in this design, I came to ask for your advice. Take a look at the schematics.

On the papyrus, carefully drawn with charcoal strokes, the project displayed the following structural configuration:

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TACTICAL SCHEMATIC: SECRET HELM

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[O] <--- Main Wheel (Horizontal Helm / Ship Style)

[ X ] <--- Master Socket (Captain) + Pin Quadrant (I to XII)

[###] <--- Secrets Drum (Vertical Cylindrical Column)

[===] <--- Service Socket (On-Duty Guard)

________/ \________

[ ] Gong Alarm [ ] Free-Fall Trigger / Flammable Oil Spring

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To explain the mechanics simply:

The Main Wheel (Navigation Helm): This is the large wheel that sentries must turn daily to raise or lower the heavy iron bar locking the gate. Under normal watch conditions, it remains free to rotate in both directions. However, to ensure the integrity of the invention, I ordered the structure to be installed inside a closed stone guardhouse fitted with a single entrance and a reinforced door.

The Base Panel (The Socket System): Behind the wheel, mounted directly against the wall's bedrock, resides a armored bronze box with two distinct keyholes and a central movable disc:

Socket One (The Captain or Guard Chief): A long, tempered iron key is inserted here. By turning it, the officer releases the internal pins so the secret code can be modified.

The Central Pin Disc (The Password): A smaller disc positioned at the heart of the base, containing engraved markings emulating the notches of a rustic clock (from I to XII). At every dawn, the Captain turns the quadrant to a specific number agreed upon solely among the command (such as number VII, for instance). This movement internally alters the position of the gears' moving teeth.

Socket Two (The Common Guard): To operate the gate during daily castle routine, the guard on duty inserts his standard service key and turns the large helm.

The Anti-Theft System (The Locking Trap): If an enemy spy from Solano assassinates a guard, confiscates his common key, and attempts to force the helm without the internal teeth being perfectly aligned with the day's code set by the Captain, the gear tooth will collide hard against a hidden wall of iron. This violent mechanical impact disengages a free-fall trigger, activating three simultaneous penalties:

Total Lockout: An extra steel bar drops by gravity onto the wheel's axle, locking it completely. The mechanism will not rotate in any direction.

Acoustic Alarm: The impact pulls a hidden steel cable, causing a heavy gong to thunder at the top of the watchtower.

Active Trap: A tensioned spring fires, launching flammable oil directly into the intruder's face while automatic locks seal the guardhouse door. In this manner, the traitor remains trapped in the dark until the holder of the main key comes to reset the mechanism.

In short: "The Navigation Wheel will operate at the top, positioned horizontally like a lying ship's helm. The heart of the mechanism, however, will be the Secrets Drum: a cylindrical bronze column descending vertically from the center of the wheel, extending toward the ground like the hidden mast of a clock gear."

Master Balin analyzed the charcoal lines with an expression of complete helplessness. The seasoned blacksmith scratched his long gray beard, letting out a rustic sigh:

— By the gods of the anvil, kid... You know there isn't a single time you cross my gates without making my legs shake in astonishment. This contraption combining clockwork gears with secret keys is simply superb! However, there are minor friction errors in the meshing of some internal crown gears, and we need to calculate weight distribution, as well as plan how this column will connect to the gate's external iron arms. Did you happen to ponder these physical hurdles?

— Well... actually, I couldn't solve those details — I confessed, scratching the back of my neck with an awkward smile. — My mind has been consumed by a rather intense exercise routine lately...

I glanced behind me, looking pointedly at the silhouette of the panda waiting patiently near the entrance.

Balin followed my gaze and burst out laughing boisterously, making his heavy belly shake:

— Hahaha! So that young lady from the Sacred Kingdom finally found a way to put you in line? Excellent! Young lady, you have my full seal of approval as a master blacksmith to keep flaying the hide off this lazy brat!

— Even you are conspiring against me, Master Balin? — I complained childishly, feigning indignation as I pulled my parchments back to my chest. — At this rate, I'll pack up my inventions and beat a retreat from this workshop!

— Hold on, hold on, you little rascal! — the dwarf exclamations between bursts of laughter, grabbing my arm with his calloused hand. — Now that you've thrown this brilliant madness onto my table, I insist on hammering every piece until it works. Explain to me right now how it functions! Tell me how it works!

— Ah, I see I'm the only one in this province who gets no voice or say... — I grumbled with geek humor, handing over the schematics once more. — Master Balin, I have a strictly personal and secret request to make of you. The deadline for completion is the start of the winter military invasion... Would you have the capacity to manufacture this for me in secret?

— You will detail this personal whim of yours later — the dwarf stated firmly. — First, I demand that you explain step-by-step what that brilliant mind of yours conceived inside this vertical bronze column.

We spent the next four hours immersed in metallurgical discussions and mechanical calculations in the quiet of the workshop, until we refined the project for the casting phase. Balin was emphatic in setting realistic deadlines: it would take one to three months of continuous effort at the forges. Everything would depend on the swiftness of the castle stonemasons in erecting the enclosed masonry guardhouses and the time spent armoring the cables against potential cuts by enemy blades. Despite the difficulties of the rustic medieval era, the craftsman guaranteed that the defenses would be operational before the first icy winds of winter arrived.

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